MADISON, Wisc. — Despite a team-high 24 points from redshirt-junior guard Shay Colley, the No. 24 Michigan State women’s basketball team was stopped by Wisconsin on the road, 79-62, Thursday night in Madison.
Michigan State falls to 17-7 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten action, while Wisconsin improves to 12-13 overall and 3-10 in league play.
For the fourth-straight game, the Spartans were led by Colley, who knocked in 24 points. She was just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Colley now has five 20+ games this season and two this week after scoring 32 against Indiana on Monday. The other Spartan in double figures was freshman guard Nia Clouden, who scored 16 points to go along with three boards. Redshirt-junior forward Victoria Gaines set a new career high with 12 rebounds and tied a career-high with four blocks.
The Badgers were led by Marsha Howard who scored 24 points to go along with nine rebounds.
The Spartans started slow, missing their first seven shots of the game, as Wisconsin jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. The cold spell came to an end after a Colley layup and MSU responded with a 6-0 run to trim the Badger lead to 7-6. Wisconsin went on a 14-2 run over three minutes to take a 22-8 lead. The Spartans shot only 24 percent in the first period.
In the second quarter, Michigan State’s shooting woes continued, as Wisconsin took its first 20-point lead at 33-13 In the first half, Colley and Clouden provided much of the Spartan offense, scoring 11 and eight points respectively.
The Michigan State defense was solid in the third quarter, holding Wisconsin to 19 points, but the Spartans still struggled on the offensive side of the ball. Colley, Clouden and Gaines led the way for MSU in the third period. At the end of the third quarter, the Badgers still held a 65-41 advantage.
The Spartans closed out the game strong, out-scoring the Badgers 21-14 in the final 10 minutes of action. Seven of MSU’s 21 points came from Colley at the charity stripe. Overall, MSU was 11-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Michigan State will close out its two-game road swing, traveling to Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 17.
